My first drill press restore was a Craftsman that was grey, but I did it in a hammered bronze color, mainly because that was a color offering at one point. After that I’ve done most things in light machinery grey. Boring, but I’d rather a shop look uniform than tinker toyish.

Restore – as in making it like new – same colorRestore – as in taking one from non-functional and making it work with whatever parts are available (a Frankenstein machine if you will) – make it any color you want.

Machines in my shop are never restored to original. I will make it useable and make it look nice. This s why I said I paint it lighter colors. In my shop I am more concern with how the machine operates vs fit and finish, after all it is a production shop and machines get used hard.

1) a machine has to be real ugly for me to be motivated to paint it. I’ve only done it a few times and owned dozensof machines. I care about function more than appearance.I guess I don’t qualify as a restorer.

2) light colors like white bounce light around in the shopwhich can be beneficial. Dark machines eat light.